Drakes
Sometimes called dragons, though not to be confused with the great creatures of legend, drakes are a fearsome race of generally forest-dwelling aerial omnivores. Lizard-like in appearance, they have scales ranging in tone from light green to nearly black; rare subspecies that inhabit particular niche ecosystems have been known to sport red, white and even blue scales. Some are uniform in colour while others sport patchy or speckled patterns. Full-grown, they average about 20 feet in length from tip to tail, with the males usually growing larger than the females. They fly on bat-like wings and defend themselves from their would-be predators, particularly griffons, with their long tail stingers and powerful jaws. Further, drakes can vomit their famously-potent stomach acids in a violent spray as a means of defense or aggression, and certain subspecies have developed glands that allow them to ignite or super-chill their acid to devastating effects on would-be predators or prey. Their diet primarily consists of trees, with a full-grown drake eating a full-sized tree in its entirety every few days. A drake can tear a whole tree apart limb from limb, consuming the fruit, leaves, wood, roots and any creature that might be living in it, digesting it in their stomach acid. While most drakes are content with a primarily herbivorous diet, eating insects and animals mostly as a side-effect of their voracious means of consumption, some become enamored with the taste, or perhaps even the sport, of eating meat. Considering their natural abilities, a drake that has decided to turn carnivore is a truly dangerous thing indeed. Drakes are actually much more intelligent than many would guess. They possess roughly the same acumen as the kobolds, though they are often considered to be even less bright as they do not easily subscribe to "civilized" lifestyles. Males are generally quite unsociable with each other once they begin to reach maturity; they stake out large individual territories where groups of females will feed and nest. Females tend to make friendships and enjoy each other's company, and will move about in loose groups, or 'flocks'. Drakes do not pair bond; females will move about between males based on the quality of their territory and their attractiveness in general, usually in small groups. Once they have selected a suitable male, the females will nest together, hatching their young and raising them semi-communally with the help of the father. Once the young are old enough to fly on their own, the flock will often begin to separate, with the male, females and their children going their separate ways, with friends often rejoining to visit and form nesting groups in later seasons. Drakes lay their eggs usually once every four years in the late summer. The young hatch in the fall, when the griffons fly south for the winter. Baby drakes imprint upon their mothers when they first hatch, which helps them identify their mother from the group. It takes about two years for a drake to reach maturity, though they are only strictly dependent upon their parents for roughly 6 months. They live about 25 years, though some have been known to live much longer. Drakes cannot speak Common, though they can be taught to understand it should the situation arise. While it is rare, there are accounts of men who have "tamed" drakes and acclimatized them to living in society, though it is much more common for stolen eggs to be hatched and the young drakes raised in human care. Being intelligent and naturally feral beings that resist living in an orderly fashion, they have never been domesticated. However, due to their size being great enough to support a grown man as a rider in flight as well as their fearsome countenance and vicious natural defenses, they are highly prized combat mounts where they can be acquired. Drakes prefer mountainous habitats over all others. Most are found in temperate forested slopes, but some rare subspecies seem to have adapted to high-altitude frozen wastes as well as extremely hot, dry areas. In Mirilarin, drakes live in the Seldarin Mountains, though a younger flock has also been established in the eastern edge of the Hokubu Woods. Drakes are also comparatively common in the mountain ranges of Calele and Tintina. Drakes are highly susceptible to ambient arcana and can be born with altered forms should their environment be rife with magic. Though a rare phenomenon, it is not unheard of to find drakes that have taken on elemental-like characteristics.Category:Race